Peppermint Kisses
by startswithhope
Summary: Just a bit of Captain Swan holiday fluff, set sometime in the happy future.


Their counter is a mess of wrapping paper and ribbon, discarded price tags and tissue paper in reds and greens and golds. For anyone else, this task may be considered tedious, but for her, it is a blessing. The pile of presents accumulating under their tree is just another blissful reminder of all that they have…family, friends, a home and each other, all things they both had lived far too long without.

She has sucked the candy cane in her mouth down all the way to the curve, leaving her lips and tongue tingling with the minty sweetness she just can't seem to get enough of. It reminds her of her only good memories of the holidays as a child, the festive candy so cheap that she knew she was guaranteed a least one each Christmas, sometimes ( _most times_ ) it being her only real gift. She would cherish each taste, only allowing herself a few licks and bites at a time to make sure it would last as long as possible. A box of them is the first thing she ever stole.

She hums around the stick at the sound of the door opening, signaling Killian finally having finished his task of clearing her bug and their driveway of the snow that had blanketed Storybrooke overnight. Catching his smile as he shakes the snow from his hair, she watches as his coat joins hers on the rack by the door, his boots finding their place on the mat next to hers. The space to the left is reserved for Henry's. It's the domestic scene she's always wanted to paint for herself, but never believed she would ever have. But she does now, with him, and it's perfect.

"What's that, love?"

As he draws near she can see that too long in the cold has turned his nose and cheeks the color of strawberry bubble gum along with the bits of snow still clinging to his scruff. He is ridiculously adorable, her fearsome pirate of the high seas.

Dropping the wrapping paper, she pulls the candy from her mouth with one hand while she reaches out to brush the snow from his chin.

"What's what?"

Nudging his chin towards her other hand, she sees his fingers start to reach up to take her candy from her grasp.

"That sweet there, it smells heavenly."

With a wicked smile, she steps backwards and twists away before he can grab hold.

"Nope, this is mine."

His eyes narrow as she pops the candy back between her lips, the light blue darkening noticeably as she curls her tongue and begins to suck.

"Bad form, Swan."

Pulling the stick slowly from her mouth, she lets the edge trace her lips as she looks at him with slightly hooded eyes, hating ( _loving_ ) how easily he affects her, relishing having the upper hand at least for a moment.

"There's a whole box in the living room, you can get your own."

He steps towards her and she realizes she has nowhere left to evade as her lower back hits the edge of the counter when she tries to take a step backwards.

"Sharing is caring, or I think that's how the expression goes?"

She can't help but laugh as he momentarily distracts himself trying to remember if he is using her world's idioms correctly. Despite not knowing most of her pop culture references, he's been a surprisingly quick learner.

"Killian, we already share a heart. I think I'm off the hook with this one."

His attention is back on her immediately at that, the charged energy that was building now sparking back on high at the mere mention of that moment that changed them both forever. True Love, already believed, but confirmed in an act that brought him home to her, tethered them together until the end of time.

She can feel the heat of him as he moves in to her space, a sharp contrast to the chill of his nose as it brushes hers, the combination of sensations tickling her senses as she waits for him to make his next move. His fingers wrap around the edge of the cane poking out between her lips and she lets him pull it out, expecting him to pop it into his mouth and take the treasure she was refusing to give. Instead, he places the bit of candy on the scrap of wrapping paper by her hip, freeing his hand to curl around her neck and pull her into a possessive, hungry kiss. His lips are warm as they nip and devour, urging hers to part so he can taste the minty sweetness directly from her tongue.

His hum of appreciation pulls a moan from deep in her throat, urging him to slide the tip of his tongue into to corners of her smile, catching every last sticky drop as his hand tangles deep into the curls escaping her low ponytail. She shivers slightly as his hook slides beneath the back of her sweater, the slightly sharp edge anchoring in the waistband of her jeans. There is no embarrassment to be found as she chases his suddenly retreating lips, not even at the sound of his self-satisfied chuckle at her eagerness.

"You were right, love, I should really get one for myself. That was delicious."

Her hands that had been wrapped around his back move almost of their own accord, sliding around his front to grab the lapels of his warm flannel and pull him back towards her mouth.

"No, sharing is definitely the way to go."

An hour later, Killian is at the counter supergluing the beak back on the porcelain bird they had bought for Snow that had broken off after its perch on the counter was usurped ( _by Emma's ass_ ), Henry is in his room pretending he didn't walk in on Killian sucking the last remnants of the candy cane off of his mother's neck and Emma is reemerging from their bedroom after stashing the rest of the box in the drawer of her nightstand.

She plans on _sharing_ the rest of those candy canes in much more creative ways later that night ( _after Henry goes to Regina's_ ).


End file.
